Canadians - Your Opinion Of Your Cuntry's Universal Healthcare System

My experiences and my family's experiences have all been good. I can't imagine a system like the US where someone dies because they can't afford health care.

by Anonymous

reply 1

04/02/2013

It is not universal now, it is two tier.

Rabid Canada boosters and the media won't discuss this, but it's true. You'll see the occasional story alluding to it in the media. If you dig deeper, you'll find the truth.

The system is falling apart at the seams and it is increasingly becoming a influence-based system.

by Anonymous

reply 2

04/02/2013

It's excellent

There was a recent poll that asked Canadians who was the greatest Canadian - and #1 was the guy most responsible for getting universal healthcare underway (Tommy Douglas)

When I complain about Canada, it is not about the healthcare system. It is one of the best things about Canada.

Americans should have what we have. They are being ripped off. It is an outrage. A rich country denying a basic need to its citizens. Organize and fight to get it. The politicians don't care, they are sold out to corporations. It has to be a sustained, grassroots fight.

by Anonymous

reply 3

04/02/2013

I am too tired to engage the freeper troll OP who, on a different Canada thread talks about "lib propaganda". "Cuntry"? You were really subtle here...

by Anonymous

reply 4

04/02/2013

Well,r5, you try going without health care for years because you cannot afford it, while a doctor lives large and doesn't give a darn. You see what it is like to watch family and friends wither and die because there is NO MONEY to pay a doctor. You try dealing with the hospital AT ADMISSION TIME for something serious. Their biggest concern is HOW WILL YOU PAY US.

by Anonymous

reply 6

04/02/2013

R5 - consider what your mother would pay out of pocket for health care insurance or, in the absence of insurance, directly for procedures. I'm a 42 year old male with high blood pressure for which I take medication, but am otherwise healthy (don't smoke and am not obese). My blood pressure is strongly influenced by heredity. And yes, I'm Canadian. Someone from the U.S., please let R5 know what I might pay for health insurance in the U.S. given my circumstances...

by Anonymous

reply 7

04/02/2013

R5 is some kind of Republican or nut. The "mother's paycheque" is weird. And of course it is not that much.

by Anonymous

reply 8

04/02/2013

[quote]It's almost borderline communist.

So?

by Anonymous

reply 10

04/02/2013

You don't mind paying trillions for a useless war in Iraq, but you don't think citizens should have something basic like healthcare?

PS: It has been proven that Americans pay MORE with the US privatized system.

by Anonymous

reply 11

04/02/2013

He prefers the kind of communism where the money goes to the corporations, Wall Street, and the military. Not to healthcare or infrastructure.

by Anonymous

reply 12

04/02/2013

R5/9 - if that's the way you think, then you need to educate yourself on public policy, externalities and reasons why we have social safety nets. It's not communism, it's welfare economics that also protects the interests of those who can afford to pay for things themselves. It's about keeping up a standard of living for the entire country. If people who are worse off become more worse off, it will have a direct impact on you through other societal costs. Would you rather pay for it at a lower cost, or would you rather pay a much higher cost in the form of economic loss, protection, etc.? It's a big picture that goes well beyond your own personal paycheque or circumstances.

by Anonymous

reply 13

04/02/2013

It's pretty good, overall. I have no major complaints. There are waitlists for non urgent tests. Emergency rooms can get crowded. By and large I feel entirely confident in it.

The nursing home system where I live is pretty impressive. Really caring people. Mind you, my exposure is to a non profit home. That makes all the difference. For profit nursing homes are holes if they're not built for the wealthy. Of course, there aren't enough of them.

by Anonymous

reply 14

04/02/2013

[quote]But the quality is better.

Alas, it isn't. We pay more and get less here in the U.S.

by Anonymous

reply 17

04/02/2013

Yes, the study also showed the quality was not better

by Anonymous

reply 18

04/02/2013

Oh, come on. You know the Americans are better at treating gunshot wounds. Canadians hardly get any exposure to them at all.

by Anonymous

reply 19

04/02/2013

I haven't had health insurance for a couple of years. I've had cancer, I'll never be able to afford health insurance and I think the USA is possibly the crummiest country in the world. We are completely owned by greedy corporations. The middle class and the underclass are never represented in this "democracy".

by Anonymous

reply 20

04/02/2013

Canadian here:

My brother 58 years old,went to ER with a burst appendix and subsequent infection. He had the appendix removed and cleaned up immediately that night. In hospital a week then home visits from a nurse and under careful watch in case of infection combined with visits to the surgeon who performed the operation.

Kidney had to be removed but good news was if he had not had the burst appendix the symptoms would not have revealed themselves for years and then it would have been too late.

Kidney removed three weeks later and proved to be early cancer.

Cost: he presented his Ontario Health card and he's back at work 4 months later. All lab tests,visits,surgery check ups and cancer- watch etc.etc all covered.

My father at 83 went down the stairs head first and received four weeks neurological rehab in hospital and three weeks physical rehab also while still in hospital.He was evaluated before he could be released by a panel of nurses,doctors and social workers before he was allowed to return to his own home where he still is at 87 years old.

One of the evaluation tests was giving him an egg and a sauce pan with all necessary ingredients and was told to make an egg salad sandwich. The main purpose of this was to see if he remembered to turn off the stove,which he did. Afterwards,I went with my dad before a final collection of care givers which insured my father was capable of living on his own.

Cost : He presented his BC Medical care card.

I go for a check up with my family doctor every year and for full blood work and anything else my doctor deems essential. If I need to see my doctor, who I chose myself - they are NOT appointed by the State- I phone up and make an appointment.

I had plantar fasciitis last year and went to my neighbourhood clinic thinking I had broken a bone in my foot. Diagnosis,pain killers and instructions and follow up care given - I waited 45 minutes to see a doctor ( not my own).

Cost to me: I presented my BC Care Card.

I am on glaucoma watch as it is prevalent in my families' history. I go to the Vancouver General Hospital Eye Clinic every 6 months for retinal photos and the field vision exam then a visit and check up two weeks later by an eye surgeon who is also my eye doctor.

Cost to me: I present my BC Care card.

My mother died of parkinson's in a Care Home which cost her a percentage of her pension every month. It was a government run care home and I have no complaints about her care nor the way she spent the last 8 months of her life and neither do my brothers nor the rest of my family.

Our families' assets including property and bank accounts and of all Canadian Citizens are untouchable. We did not have to bankrupt ourselves to ensure pain free and comfortable care for my mother's final months.

My father paid an extra $5 a week to get my mom's hair done (she loved that!) and another fee for "Happy Hour" every Friday night even though they rarely attended.

Otherwise the cost except for the percentage paid by her pension (she was a teacher) was: presentation of her BC Care Card.

I see the usual complaints about the Canadian medical system. I always wonder whether the complainants have family doctors?

If you have never taken advantage of making sure you are "in the system" and you turn up at ER with a stomach ache - whether it is cancer or indigestion - if you have no physician's name to put on the admittance forms and you've never bothered to pay your monthly $18 or $32 or as in some provinces ZERO and you have no history - you have no advocate and you'll probably wait.

Unless it's an emergency then no questions and you get treatment. I don't have any idea what some of these people are talking about. Wait lists for ELECTIVE surgery like knee replacement do have waits - sometimes quite lengthy.

But if you're hit by a bus - you go right in...

Just my two bits.... oh my fees in the Province of BC as of Jan 2013 are $66.50 a month of which my work pays half.

by Anonymous

reply 21

04/02/2013

I haven't had health care since 2009 and I'm 57. I haven't seen a doctor in four years. I live in a state that is rejecting Obamacare, though it may still be available. I'm not sure.

It is a scandal that the supposedly richest country in the world cannot provide universal health care.

by Anonymous

reply 22

04/02/2013

By the way R5 - if you really were Canadian that would be "cheque" NOT "check".

by Anonymous

reply 23

04/03/2013

My friend diagnosed with bladder cancer a week ago has surgery scheduled for April 12th, and would begin chemo a couple weeks later if the surgery goes well. Yes, she's paid for it through taxes, but she won't have to fight with an insurance company, or have to delay surgery until an insurance company agrees to pay. Not bad for a communist system.

While it is not prefect, health care is sacred in Canada. Any politician who even suggests doing away with it, would get voted out of office fast.

There is NOT one Canadian who would support going to a US style of health care.

by Anonymous

reply 25

04/03/2013

I am alive today because of the health insurance I get through my company. Obamacare is going to slowly strip this down. Everyone seems to forget there are a lot of people out here who are going to be on the losing end of this whole thing - probably as many or more than those who will benefit.

by Anonymous

reply 26

04/03/2013

How so, R26?

by Anonymous

reply 27

04/03/2013

I've lived for many years in both countries and the Canadian system is superior in every way. One of the biggest ironies: Americans pride themselves on their lean, mean capitalist economy, yet the private health care system is as bloated, bureaucratic, and inefficient as your worst communist nightmare.

by Anonymous

reply 28

04/03/2013

A Canadian colleague (now in the US for past 5 years) brags about the US health system (however, he has private insurance) and how quick his wife was able to get hip replacement insurance. But maybe he is a Canadian Freeper? Maybe Canada is hesitant to perform surgery and US doctors are quick to schedule surgery if patient has insurance??

by Anonymous

reply 29

04/03/2013

People fly to Ametican for treatment. No one flies to Canada. The US and French healthcare is the best in the world. That's just a fact. The US has the top medical universities on the planet.

by Anonymous

reply 30

04/03/2013

[quote]Yes, the study also showed the quality was not better

Link, cause you're lying. The US is the most advance when it comes to treatment. Fact.

by Anonymous

reply 31

04/03/2013

Yes, r30, we get it, the USA has the best health care that MONEY CAN BUY, if you can't pay, we'll make a lien on your home.

by Anonymous

reply 32

04/03/2013

[quote]The US is the most advance when it comes to treatment.

Only if you're rich.

There are 39 countries ahead of the US when it comes to life expectancy, and 33 countries that have better infant mortality rates. The World Health Organization ranked health systems around the world in 2000, and the U.S. came in at 37, between Costa Rica and Slovenia.

by Anonymous

reply 33

04/03/2013

If single payer systems are so great, why do many of the countries with "single payer" also have add-on health insurance plans offered by employers?

by Anonymous

reply 34

04/03/2013

The technology and treatments are the most advanced here.

But they're also the most expensive. Not everyone has access to them.

And even when given access, many people can end up bankrupted by them.

So it's a trade off, and I'm not sure it's the right one.

by Anonymous

reply 35

04/03/2013

[quote] The US has the top medical universities on the planet.

So what? I'd rather have universal healthcare available to those who need it.

by Anonymous

reply 36

04/03/2013

R36 - I'm guessing when it comes down to meeting the grim reaper you would wish you had the corporate supplied benefits and quality of care here.

by Anonymous

reply 37

04/03/2013

R37 no I wouldn't. I don't want to burden my family with medical bills.

There is NOT ONE PERSON in Canada who would switch from a Universal Healthcare coverage to a US style approach where to have to pay for it.

NOT ONE CANADIAN.

by Anonymous

reply 38

04/03/2013

Too many Americans refuse to believe that their country isn't Number One in every way. It's insulting and painful for them to think otherwise.

by Anonymous

reply 39

04/03/2013

R29, my guess he loves it because in a user pay, private access system you would love it if you had the cash or coverage. I'd like to know his opinion if he didn't have that insurance.

by Anonymous

reply 40

04/03/2013

In the USA, you can lose your insurance coverage when you get sick--just when you need it most. Then not only are you deathly ill and unable to afford treatment, but you'll lose your house and get forced into bankruptcy by your medical bills. A large percentage of evictions and bankruptcies are tied to unpaid medical bills.

Insurance companies in the USA exclude pre-existing conditions and deny coverage that way. They'll also comb through your medical history to find something which they can claim contributed to your illness, and use that historical blip as an excuse to deny coverage.

I wish I lived in a country where people cared enough about each other to provide universal health care. For now I live in the US, but I'm a Canadian citizen because my father was Canadian when I was born. One day, I hope to move there.

by Anonymous

reply 41

04/03/2013

I racked up $3,000,000, yes three million dollars, in expenses in one year for a cancer diagnosis in the US. I got to pick the best surgeons, oncologists, hematologist, and radiation/chemotherapists in the business. It cost me $6k out of pocket. My benefits wee corporate. No single payer system (government) on earth would have paid for what I went through. 5 years later I am perfectly healthy. Single payer will murder people.

by Anonymous

reply 42

04/03/2013

Thank you, r42.

I couldn't believe the killing of the public option.

After that point, I thought--why bother?

I still do. Obama has really been a corporate shill and disappointment. I'm not a Freeper, either.

by Anonymous

reply 43

04/03/2013

Canadian here. The only problem I have with the Canadian health care system is that it isn't 2 tiered enough. It would be nice to be able to get faster treatment if you were willing/able to pay out of pocket for some things.

That being said, I had chemo for cancer and the cost to me out of pocket was $0. Yes, we pay for heatlhcare in a roundabout way through our taxes but, as Americans refuse to accept, you don't get anything for nothing.

by Anonymous

reply 44

04/03/2013

The US does fund universal health care ..........IN ISRAEL!

Bwahahaahaa!

by Anonymous

reply 45

04/03/2013

[quote]Single payer will murder people.

In a word: bullshit. There are two problems with your anecdote. The first is that all single-payer proposals that I'm aware of explicitly allow people like you to purchase platinum-rated coverage on top of the basic single-payer coverage, which means that not a damn thing would change for you. Single-payer, like Social Security and Medicare, provides a floor, not a ceiling.

The second is that roughly 25% of U.S. citizens today either have no coverage or hopelessly inadequate coverage, causing tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths each year. The *failure* to have single-payer is killing people.

by Anonymous

reply 46

04/04/2013

Until Canada has the best hospitals and medical universities, their health care (when it comes to actual treatment) cannot outweigh America's.

by Anonymous

reply 47

04/04/2013

What R46 said is the truth. The US healthcare can be great if you are wealthy and have a great corporate plan.

However for majority of the country who are uninsured or or have crappy health insurance it is a TERRIBLE system that causes them to go into insurmountable debt because they had the audacity to get sick or injured.

It is a shameful system, there is no real argument about this except for ignorant neocons who don't understand how much more efficient a single payer system is for all the rest of the Western world who has it.

by Anonymous

reply 48

04/04/2013

[quote]Until Canada has the best hospitals and medical universities, their health care (when it comes to actual treatment) cannot outweigh America's.

Actually, even if the first part of your statement were true (it's not), the rest of your statement still wouldn't follow. A system that supports 100% of its citizens will always outweigh a system that fails 25% of its citizens.

by Anonymous

reply 49

04/04/2013

[quote] will always outweigh a system that fails 25% of its citizens.

Try 75%

As I had said earlier, no Canadian would ever trade the health care they have now for a US system.

Health care in Canada is sacred.

by Anonymous

reply 50

04/04/2013

r20, the middle class THINKS they are represented because they can shop 'til they drop. Everything is all rosy until they can't afford something or, heaven forbid, they get sick, very sick, and can't afford health care. Then it is all whining and complaining about how the government should "do something." Yeah,right, tell us about it. Only then is there some temporary unity with the rest of us.

by Anonymous

reply 51

04/05/2013

Is there any other country in the world that has a health system like the US's? Any other advanced, developed western democracy?

by Anonymous

reply 52

04/05/2013

No, R52, all the other advanced, developed western democracies are leagues ahead of us in caring for the health of their people. I hope to see National Health Care for the USA in my lifetime.

We could have had it after WWII. Truman was all for it.

The AMA hired the amoral public relations firm Whitaker and Baxter to campaign against universal coverage. Their campaign against Truman's national health insurance plan was the most expensive political campaign in U.S. history (up to that point).

by Anonymous

reply 53

04/05/2013

Could someone ask the dull and imprecise OP how health care in one country can "outweigh" that in another? Could someone please suggest that the OP learn English? It has become a problem, given the extreme number of threads she has been grinding out.

by Anonymous

reply 54

04/06/2013

Love it, my Dad had a triple bypass and it cost him zero put of pocket. His care was excellent. I lived in the states and found the healthcare crummy and corrupt. God help you if you have an HMO. Profiting off of sick people is vile.

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